Requirement for tyrosine phosphorylation in lipopolysaccharide-induced murine B-cell proliferation

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces a strong B-cell proliferative response with subsequent differentiation, through a complex signal transduction pathway. This process is known to be mediated through protein kinase C (PKC) translocation without Ca2+ mobilization. Here, we show that B-cell proliferative responses induced by five different LPS preparations, as well as by F(ab')2 anti-IgM antibodies, are inhibited by the tyrosine kinase inhibitors, genistein and herbimycin A. In contrast, B-cell proliferation induced by the combination of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus ionomycin was not influenced by treatment with either herbimycin A or genistein. These data indicate that tyrosine phosphorylation is required to initiate B-cell proliferation by LPS.